Russet is a dark brown color with a reddish-orange tinge. As a

tertiary color A tertiary color or intermediate color is a color made by mixing full saturation of one primary color with half saturation of another primary color and none of a third primary color, in a given color space such as RGB color model, RGB, CMYK color ...

, russet is an equal mix of orange and purple pigments. The first recorded use of russet as a color name in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

was in 1562. The source of this color is ''The ISCC-NBS Method of Designating Colors and a Dictionary of Color Names'' (1955) used by stamp collectors to identify the colors of stamps. However, it is widely considered hard to standardize, and the same vary name could be applied to various tones; ''russet'' often has no more specific meaning than ''ruddy'' or ''reddish''. The name of this color derives from russet, a coarse cloth made of wool and dyed with

woad ''Isatis tinctoria'', also called woad (), dyer's woad, or glastum, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae (the mustard family) with a documented history of use as a blue dye and medicinal plant. Its genus name, Isatis, derives from ...

and

madder ''Rubia'' is the type genus of the Rubiaceae family of flowering plants, which also contains coffee. It contains around 80 species of perennial scrambling or climbing herbs and subshrubs native to the Old World. The genus and its best-known spe ...

to give it a subdued grey or reddish-brown shade. By the statute of 1363, poor English people were required to wear russet. Russet, a color of

autumn Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September ( Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Sou ...

, is often associated with sorrow or grave seriousness. Anticipating a lifetime of regret,

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's character Biron says in ''

Love's Labour's Lost ''Love's Labour's Lost'' is one of William Shakespeare's early comedies, believed to have been written in the mid-1590s for a performance at the Inns of Court before Elizabeth I of England, Queen Elizabeth I. It follows the King of Navarre and ...

'', Act V, Scene 1: "Henceforth my wooing mind shall be express'd / In russet yeas and honest kersey noes." Russet is mentioned in a famous quote taken from a letter

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

wrote to Sir William Spring in September 1643: "I had rather have a plain, russet-coated captain that knows what he fights for, and loves what he knows,

han that which you call a gentleman and is nothing else Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

. Cites Carlyle, ''Letters and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell''.

References

Tertiary colors Shades of brown {{Color-stub es:Bermejo (color)

See also

References